


Alien Affection Affliction

by Edandcurly



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alien Harry, Aliens, Alternate Universe, Bisexual Liam, F/F, F/M, Famous Louis, Implied Zayn Malik/Liam Payne, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-15 21:42:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7239652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edandcurly/pseuds/Edandcurly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis lives a normal life-- well, as normal a life a member of the royal family can lead, anyway. He isn't especially brave, nor is he especially interested in anything-- that is, until a certain otherworldly someone pays him an unexpected visit. Louis is suddenly faced with a responsibility he never dreamed would fall to him; can he save the lives of beings on an entirely different planet? Can he risk his own life and the lives of his friends, just to save a curly haired stranger?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After working on this for over a year we're finally posting chapter one! 
> 
> Special thanks to Olivia and Mikaela for inspiring our alien lovers and Lydia for your editing suggestions and great ideas. Also the Larry book club who is always ready to share a new fic. 
> 
> We hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Leah (edandcurly) and Grace (nahhgini)

"Hey, Louis!"

 

A solitary brown-haired boy looked up from the dregs of his lukewarm beer. He’d been deep in thought only moments before, and he seemed startled to have been brought out of his reverie. 

“Oh, hey Gabe.”

Louis’s short, pompous-looking friend was walking toward him, nodding to the beat of a very loud techno song that was making Louis’s teeth vibrate. Gabe was wearing ripped designer jeans, and Louis could make out a flashy Rollex on his wrist, glinting in the dim light. 

What’s up?” asked Louis with difficulty; he was fighting to be heard over the music.

"Nothing much. Bangin party, eh?"

Louis feigned a look of enjoyment. "Yeah, it's great."

"Listen, a couple of the lads and I wanted to head down to the pool," Gabe said. "You in?"

Louis hesitated, not at all interested in the prospect. Gabe was a good school friend, but that was all he was. If he didn't have to see him twice a week, Louis doubted he'd ever speak to Gabe at all. "Who's going?"

"James, Zayn, Liam, and-"

"And me!" came a boisterous voice from behind Louis.

Before Louis could turn in his seat, he was hit with something that felt like a giant mallet.

"Hey Louis!" Niall was hugging him from behind so hard it felt as though a python had taken hold of him. 

"'Lo, Niall," Louis gasped in reply. "You're coming with us?"

"Sure!" replied the happy Irish boy, letting go of Louis. "Where are we going, again?"

Louis could tell that Niall was already quite drunk-- his slurred speech and the way he swayed a little when he let go of Louis were all too familiar signs.

"We’re going night-swimming," offered Gabe. He turned to the thronging mass of people behind him and bellowed, " OI! ZAYN AND LIAM! JAMES! GET YOUR ARSES OVER HERE."

In an instant, Zayn and Liam were at Louis’s side, dragging a tipsy James behind them. 

"Hey, mates," Louis threw in the direction of Zayn and Liam; Louis only nodded slightly at James, though he didn't think the other boy noticed. Louis wasn't very fond of him, anyway. 

"Your highness," Zayn laughed, mock bowing. 

Louis punched him in the arm and hid a grin. Liam laughed too, and pretended to curtsy. Louis rolled his eyes. 

Ever since he'd started going to Dany Academy for Britain's Elite, Zayn and Liam had been the only two people who'd learned how to joke about the whole "Louis is a prince from the British royal family" thing. Louis could count on being treated like a normal bloke when he was around them. The rest of the school found him sort of… intimidating. 

Gabe laughed too, but Louis could sense his awkwardness. Inwardly, Louis sighed. He was seventeen, lanky, and a prince. Why couldn't people just forget about that last little detail?

"What the bloody hell are we waitin' for?!" cried Niall, and, in his drunken, lovable state, decided to grab Louis around the middle and lift him square off his feet. 

"Alright, calm down!" Louis shrieked, and wriggled out of his grasp. Laughing and talking (Niall the loudest) the group made its way down the stairs to the large, picturesque pool. It was a ways away from the rest of the party, and Louis was glad for a respite from the loud music and talkative people. The pool was deserted, and its water was still in the cold night air.

The entire estate was owned by one of the boys at the Academy's families, and (as everything did at Dany Elite) it reeked of money. Though Louis didn't really have many close friends besides Zayn, Liam, and Niall, he wasn't surprised to receive an invitation to this party. In fact, whenever someone threw a party, Louis was always invited-- intimidating though it may be, having royalty at your birthday bash did do wonders for your reputation at school. 

"Holy shit, it's cold!" screeched Zayn, having taken his shirt off and thrown it aside. 

Louis laughed. "You haven't even gotten in the water yet, mate."

"Ready, Louis?" Liam asked to the left, still fully clothed.

"Yeah, I-" but before Louis could reply the pool was suddenly bathed in a blinding white blue light. He threw up his hands to shield his eyes, and in his peripheral vision he could see the others do the same. 

"What the-” began Zayn, but he was cut off when a deep humming noise penetrated the night air, drowning out the party’s muffled techno music. The lawn chairs and the fancy glass tables started to shake and clang, softly at first but with increasing volume. Louis could feel the vibrations of the deep noise from his toes to his fingertips, could feel it envelop him.

“Liam, what’s going on?” Louis asked, fear seeping into his voice. By the looks of the faces on the boys around him, they were just as startled as he was. There was a horrible sinking feeling in Louis’s stomach. Something’s wrong. 

He blinked hard and squinted up into the source of the light. He could see nothing but a halo of blue and white, and when he looked away, the image was seared into his eyes. Suddenly, the humming rose in pitch and volume, and water splashed over the edges of the pool. Louis clapped his hands to his ears and could feel his teeth rattle. It was almost too much too handle all at once; his senses overwhelming him, Louis looked at Liam and saw that he was staring, wide-eyed, at the light above them. Icy fear took hold of Louis. Are we going to die here?

Then, as suddenly as it all had began, it stopped. The light went out. The sounds ceased, including the other boys’ yells. Louis blinked and tentatively removed his hands from his ears. “What was th-”

Before Louis knew what was happening, he heard a splash! and was soaked with freezing water. He spun around and--oh, shit-- lost his balance. He tumbled into the pool, head-first, water filling his mouth and eyes. 

Louis had always been a strong swimmer; he’d learned how to swim about three weeks after he learned how to walk, and he’d spent countless summers diving into his family’s luxurious pool, seeing how big of a splash he could make. He’d held contests with his cousins since he was about six years old, and had even made it onto Dany Academy’s swim team when he was twelve. In that moment though, with water filling his lungs, the patio lights above the surface distorting his vision, and the darkness of the deep blue water swallowing his concept of what was up and what was down, it was as if Louis had never set foot in a pool in his life. The frigid water seeped into his skin and seemed to settle into the pit of his stomach; he began to move his arms in a desperate, wild motion, but in his shock he couldn’t seem to move; panic was setting in--I’m dying, I’m going to die--

But no, now two strong arms were wrapping themselves around his middle and heaving him upward. Louis’s head broke the surface, and he clutched at the ledge of the pool. Immediately, Louis was pulled upward with the help of many frantic hands.

"Louis! Are you alright?"

"Did you hit your head, Louis?"

"Who the hell is that?"

Louis coughed out the water he’d swallowed, and blinked his eyes furiously. He’d dazedly assumed that one of the boys had jumped in after him, but, through the chlorine in his eyes, he saw that they were all perfectly dry. He coughed again, and realized that he was leaning heavily on something warm and as wet as he was. 

"Are you alright?" 

Louis looked to his right and found himself staring directly into a pair of brilliant green eyes. Out of instinct, he jerked away, but not before he noticed the stranger’s concerned expression and-- that is one cute face. 

"I, uh.." words failed Louis. “Did you, uh-” he coughed up some more water. “Where did you come from?”

The boy cocked his head a little, his wet hair forming dark ringlets around his face. “Well, I came from my ship, if that’s what you mean,” he said matter of factly. 

“Your ship--?” Louis’s mouth gaped open. Behind the stranger, he saw the large, black, saucer-like disc that was slowly gliding down to settle on the other side of the pool. 

Beside him, Liam let out a scream. 

The stranger glanced at him. “Yeah, sorry about the noise and the light, I know it can be a bit much--”

“Are you an alien?” asked Niall, his voice squeaking. 

The boy flinched. “I don’t prefer that term.” 

This was too much for James; he fainted and toppled sideways. The other boys didn’t pay him any attention. 

“You’re a real, honest-to-God alien?” asked Louis incredulously. 

“Like, from outer-space?” put in Niall, inching away from the stranger and nearer to Liam and Zayn. 

“Well, outer-space, yes” replied the boy, looking unperturbed. He stood unnaturally straight, and his hands were clasped firmly behind his back. It was then that Louis noticed he was wearing what looked like some sort of odd, scaled bodysuit-- certainly not made from any material Louis had ever seen. 

There was a shocked silence for a few heartbeats. Louis could see Liam staring with wide eyes at the large disc behind the stranger, pointing and mouthing wordlessly-- Louis couldn't blame him. The spacecraft was magnificent-- even Louis, whose eyes were still stinging from chlorine, could see its eight-foot tall legs that spindled up to hold a round, glass dome. In the darkness, it seemed to sparkle. 

“Thanks for saving me,” was all Louis could think to say. 

“You’re welcome,” the boy said with a dimpled smile. Despite his fear, Louis couldn't help but allow himself a polite smile in return. A loud whimper from Gabe made them turn around quickly.

“Don’t thank him! He could be hostile!” He was pointing a shaking finger in the stranger’s direction. "This is weird, this is too weird. Who-- what-- Whoever you are, you need to go back to wherever you came from!”

“My name is Harry,” the boy said patiently. “I understand you might be frightened. I’m from-”

“I don’t care where you’re from, I want you out!” 

The alien--Harry-- sighed. “I wish I could leave too, but it’s not possible--”

But Gabe wouldn’t hear any of it; he seemed to have lost his wits. Without waiting for Harry to finish, Gabe pushed Zayn and Louis out of the way and, before anyone could stop him, ran at Harry and tried to tackle him to the ground. 

“Gabe, you idiot!” Louis shrieked, and Liam made to grab Gabe, but missed. 

Harry, though, simply caught hold of Gabe’s flailing arms and held him away at a safe distance. 

“I’M NOT,” Harry said loudly and slowly, as though Gabe was slow to understand, “GOING TO HURT YOU. I’M HERE BECAUSE OF SERIOUS--”” 

“Let me go!” cried Gabe, wrenching himself free. He turned, glowering, to the rest of the boys and James, who was still passed out cold on the ground. “I want you out! 

"Oh, I can take care of the ship," Harry said, as though he'd just remembered.

He pressed a button on the sleeve of his suit and the giant saucer flew back into the sky faster than Louis could follow it with his eyes. He, Liam, Zayn, and Niall just stared at the place it had vanished in amazement, but the moment was again disrupted by Gabe. 

"Did you hear me? You’re all mental, the lot of you!” he shouted, his voice shaking. Despite not liking the bloke, Louis felt a little sorry for him; he looked panicked. “Get out," Gabe continued, pointing a trembling finger towards the back gate.

Louis looked around at the four boys as Gabe ran back up the stone path. Because the spaceship had beamed down so far away from any windows to the estate, Louis doubted anybody from the party had noticed anything odd; however, he was sure Gabe would also deny everything if anybody had seen anything. He wasn’t one to risk his reputation of overall sanity. 

Harry shrugged and started toward the gate, and the rest of the boys tentatively trailed behind him, leaving James lying on the cold ground. If there was an alien on the loose in England, they felt responsible. Louis’s sopping wet clothes were icy cold, and he shivered-- though his shivering could also have been attributed to the fact that Harry, an unidentified flying object, was walking right beside him. He could still sense the other boys’ lingering shock, as well, as they stumbled and faltered for words. Always super awkward when a hot guy beams down from the sky in the middle of your party. 

“So, er, is there somewhere you have to be?” Louis asked, trying to break the tension. “Or did you mean to land in someone’s pool?”  
,   
Harry furrowed his brow. “I just meant to get to Earth.” He looked down at his large hands. “It was kind of a rushed planning.”

“What do you mean?” Niall asked, nearly tripping over a bush.

“It’s a long story,” replied Harry.

"Um, we could go to my place," Louis offered.

"Good idea," Liam said, sounding grim. The palace was a colossal place, perfect for hiding a strange man who had just beamed down to Earth. 

“Thank you,” Harry said solemnly, running a hand through his damp, curly hair. “I’m sorry for any inconvenience--”

“It’s fine, mate,” Louis said, though his fast-beating heart was telling him otherwise. What the hell was he going to do with an alien in his house?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis, Liam, Niall, and Zayn get some answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so we're gonna try and update once a week, we were a day late this time as I (Leah) was at camp. Thanks for reading, please leave comments of any questions or reactions you have and we will get back to you! 
> 
> Also, sorry this is so short, chapter 3 is super long though! 
> 
> Grace (nahhgini) and Leah (edandcurly)

"Before I let you infiltrate the British palace, I'm gonna need some more explanation," Louis was telling Harry, only half-joking, as the group filed into his home.

"Of course. Well, I guess there's no way to say this except to dive right in.” Harry seemed nervous. “Well, uh, I'm a human, but I was raised by Astorians-- aliens, to you, I guess."

No one had a reply to that. They trudged up the spiraling stairs to Louis’s room, and though Louis couldn't tell what the others were thinking, the only thought running through his mind was, Oh my god, why are all the cute ones crazy?

As if sensing their discomfort, Harry continued rather haltingly. "Um, when I was young, an evil Astorian-- his name was Mannie Hulin Matio-- established a project that was called, uh, ‘Human Elimination.’ He wanted all humans dead so that my people-- I mean, the Astorians-- could take over earth. My family-- er, human family-- were the first people attacked, and I was the only one who survived. Mannie Matio and his henchmen all died about five years after that-- uh, they didn't do much research about Earth before they arrived and, well, the oxygen turned out to be poisonous to all Astorians."

Not meeting the others’ unbelieving eyes, Harry fiddled with his skin-tight sleeve and continued. 

"When the rest of my people found out what had happened, they came to earth to retrieve any evidence of what Matio did, which included the creation of a wormhole which allowed them to travel from Astoria to Earth in about a day. Once Mannie was dead and all the evidence, me included was eradicated they closed up the wormhole so that Earth would be safe. So they took me back to Astoria-- our planet-- and I've lived there all my life." He finished matter-of-factly.

Miraculously, Niall laughed and clapped Harry on the back, saying, "That's really sick dude!" 

The boys were now in Louis’s massive bedroom, settled on the floor. Zayn and Liam were still just staring. Louis furrowed his eyebrows, thoroughly perplexed. 

"How exactly were you, uh, ’evidence,’ mate?" he asked, still not believing this kid’s outlandish story. 

"Did that Matio guy get drunk and accidentally let slip to you that he was an alien or something?" prompted Niall. "Because I've been there." 

"No, it was-- I don't know. I was so young, you know.. I was just a baby. Astorians remember everything all their lives, but when human babies grow up, they experience infantile amnesia. My people didn’t know that I wouldn’t remember what happened.”

“Have they ever told you what you saw? The Astorians you lived with?” Louis asked, perplexed. 

“No…” he looked at his hands. “They don’t really like to talk about what happened.” He sniffled. 

“Hey,” Louis said, taking one of Harry’s big hands within his own smaller ones, “it’s okay. I’m sure they had good reasons.”

Zayn and Liam didn’t seem quite so keen to trust this mysterious boy as Louis was. "So if you've lived with aliens on a different planet almost your whole life, why are you here?" asked Zayn. 

At this, Harry's face grew even more grim. "My family is in trouble." 

"Trouble?" Louis asked. "What kind of trouble?"

"Mannie Matio... he had followers."

"And?" Louis prompted.

"Well, after he died they sort of... wanted to continue Matio's plan to destroy earth, except this time they wanted to punish the Astorians that had opposed him." Harry took a deep breath. "My adoptive parents were very outspoken against Matio, and they were the ones who funded the plan to remove all of his influence on earth."

"So are his followers back or something?" asked Liam, pulling a blanket around himself. 

"Like the Death Eaters?" added Niall, who was still tipsy. "In Harry Potter?" 

"I don't know what that means, but, yes, they are back," Harry said, nodding solemnly. "Last night, a group of them-- ugly blokes-- broke into our home and--" a strange expression crossed his face. "Wait... The trip I took in my ship... Our galaxy is light years upon light years away from earth. It was last night that my parents packed me up and sent me earthbound, but.. I've been in cryo-freeze for..."

Louis looked at Harry intently-- they were all looking at Harry intently. Harry looked up then, his glittering green eyes locking into his. He looked as if he was about to be sick. 

"I've been in cryo-freeze on that ship for a long time." Harry whispered to himself. "The night I left my planet... that was six earth years ago. I've been asleep in space for six years."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys visit waffle house and the Larry love begins.

"D'you think he's dead?"

"You'd think, for a bloke who was asleep for six years, he wouldn't be so tired."

"It's the shock, I expect."

"Shh!" Louis whispered angrily, glaring at the trio of boys on his couch. "Whatever it is, just let him sleep. He's got enough on his plate already."

Soon after Harry the human alien realized how long he'd been in cryo-freeze he had passed out in the middle of Louis’s king-size bed. 

Liam and Zayn had stayed together in a room down the hall. Niall and Louis had always been slightly suspicious of how close they were, but it wasn't enough to question it. Not yet, at least. 

Niall, of course, had slept in his room located in the help wing. His mother and father were both cooks in the palace. They made food for Louis and his family, and for the big galas and events that they often held. The Horans were some of the kindest people Louis knew, and Niall had been like a brother to Louis since he was very small. Now, Niall was learning how to be a royal cook because his father would be retiring soon. 

"I really think he's dead," Niall said, reaching out too quickly for Louis to stop him, and poking Harry's cheek. 

The four of them watched as he blinked open his eyes, rubbed them, and jumped when he saw the four pairs of eyes watching him. 

"Morning," Louis said with a smile. 

Realization swept over Harry’s face as he smiled sleepily. 

He sat up and stretched with almost a feline agility. Louis blushed; Harry was pretty cute, for an alien. 

“Now that you’re awake, we’ve got some questions for you,” Liam said, getting straight to business. He was always rather matter-of-fact. “I’ve been up for hours and I’ve nearly got a list. First of all, how can you speak English?" 

Harry grinned-- his beautiful dimples making an appearance-- and Louis had to keep himself from smiling back. What is with this boy? 

"My adoptive family made sure to teach me a few Earth languages as well as the their own language. They wanted me to embrace my ‘human culture.’" Harry rubbed his eyes, still clearly sleepy. 

"Alright, fair enough,” said Liam, glancing at the rest of them. "If you've been frozen or whatever for six years, doesn't that mean they sent you off when you were like eight?" 

Harry's face crinkled with worry. "Well, six years has passed there, but I'm the same age as I was when I left because I've been frozen so...I guess I'm still sixteen?" He said this more as a question than a statement, and Louis could see that not knowing his correct age was causing him more distress than he was letting on. 

"If a bunch of evil aliens were attacking, and it's been six years there, doesn't that mean…" Niall said, letting his sentence trail off. 

Louis saw Liam and Zayn shoot Niall a look, and he knew why. If Harry's planet had been in trouble when he left six years ago, who knew what had become of it now? 

Harry seemed to realize this, too; his face went white and he looked like he was going to pass out again. 

"I- I need to contact my people" he said, and began punching in buttons on the sleeve of his suit. A screen projected from the wrist and, quite suddenly, the face of a pale yellow, bug-eyed creature appeared. Niall slid off the bed as though he didn't want the creature to see him, and backed towards the door with Liam and Zayn. 

"Ah, Harry, we thought we would be hearing from you soon," the creature said, its voice crackling. 

Louis vaguely wondered why the creature was speaking English, but thought that now was not a good time to ask. Harry looked like he could cry any minute. He stood up completely, on the other side of the bed.

Harry addressed the alien with a trembling voice and watery eyes. "Mannie Jr, where is my family?" 

"Oh, Harry," Mannie Jr replied viciously, his overlarge eyes narrowing at Harry through the screen. "Let me show you."

The screen then turned to reveal what looked like a wasteland. Looking closer, Louis could see hundreds of similar, yellow creatures in gray uniforms milling around hopelessly. It was seconds before he realized, with horror, that they were all shackled together with rusted chains. Harry gasped and tears began to fall down his cheeks. Mannie Jr let out a horrible cackling laugh and the screen went blank. 

Harry fell to his knees and the boys just stood there awkwardly, so Louis walked over lightly and rubbed Harry's back, kneeling next to him.

"So, who was that guy?" he asked.

Harry took a deep, shuddering breath. "That was Mannie Jr-- he’s Mannie Matio's son and most loyal follower. He threatened to to gather the other followers and start a rebellion. That's why I was sent here, to find a way to stop him, but--” he choked a little, and a tear slid down his cheek. “I- I've obviously failed."

Louis reached out and took Harry’s hand, and gave him what he hoped seemed like a sympathetic look. It was hard for him to imagine exactly what Harry was going through. 

Harry took another breath and continued. "Before, the Astorians were free and happy, we had beautiful houses and parks. Now as you saw, it's like a prison camp. Everyone used to be a different color as well and they were all a sickly yellow color. I have no clue what that means. I can't believe this and I really need to get back to them. Once I figure out how to save them of course." 

"Well ya can't save anyone on an empty stomach, mate! Let's go have breakfast!" Niall suggested brightly. Harry nodded, smiled, and took Louis’ hand, his still shaking and clammy. 

"Will we be requesting the service of the Horans this morning? Or sneaking to Waffle House undercover?" Louis addressed Niall with a smirk. 

He let out a loud laugh, "Waffle House, please!" 

The problem with Niall was that because his parents were the chefs, they made him help cook if he wanted to have breakfast with Louis. Thus, the boys had developed a frequent habit of sneaking out to eat. 

"We're always up for Waffle House," Liam replied.

To an outsider, this might have sounded like a completely casual morning, but with four of Britain’s elite, a trip to Waffle House was a pretty big deal. Because each of their families was fairly wealthy and prominent in the country, their parents didn't approve of them eating what was deemed 'cheap food.' They all seemed to think it was beneath their “little angels.” In fact, the first time Louis had suggested to his mom that they eat at McDonalds, she had reprimanded him, saying,"Louis, dear, don't you think that if you can afford better, you deserve better?" He had given a weak smile and agreed-- he was never the confrontational type, but he still didn’t understand that mentality. Especially when McDonalds and Waffle House had such delicious food. 

"Um, sorry but, what's Waffle House?" Harry inquired. Zayn, Liam and Niall were bickering about something, but Louis turned to him as they walked through the palace and explained,"It's a restaurant; they have really good breakfast food."

Harry looked at him quizzically, "Good food?" 

Louis nodded hesitantly, not understanding what Harry was trying to say. 

"Well, up in space, everything is dry and airy. We eat more out of necessity than because it tastes good," he explained. Then it dawned on Louis: Everything Harry ate was probably freeze dried, tasteless, and hard. To him, it seemed a bit nasty, but Harry looked unperturbed. 

"So, you were in space a lot?" Louis asked conversationally. "I mean, not on your home planet, or whatever?"

"Well, where I live, once you reach 13, you're sent up into orbit around the planet to study at the Academy." 

"The Academy?"

"Yeah, a sort of school where you learn how to operate the pods and train to function in space; that sort of thing. I've been there for about three years now..." he trailed off, shaking his head. 

Louis looked down at the luxurious red carpet they were walking on, he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be asleep and oblivious for six years, not even aware that time was passing. 

"So when Mannie whatever's followers came back-"

"I was home visiting my parents," Harry finished for him, nodding his affirmation. "I don't know if that was lucky or not; I don't know what happened to the Academy."

"Oi!" Niall gave a shout, and everyone glanced over at him. "You can't wear a freakin' space suit to Waffle House!" 

Liam and Zayn looked back and everyone nodded and murmured variations of “oh, yeah” 

"Here come to my room, I'll get you some clothes" Louis offered. Harry smiled and nodded as they turned back to head towards Louis’ room. 

"Go on ahead, I'll meet you in the escape pod," Louis joked, waving the boys along. They chuckled as they rounded the corner. 

"Um, do you have something with long sleeves?" Harry asked. "I'd like to keep my wrist-top on." 

"Sure, but what's a wrist-top?" Louis replied, starting towards the walk in closet. 

"It’s what I used before to contact Mannie Jr. It has as much power as a human laptop, but molds right around your arm, very unobtrusive," his voice carried into the closet as Louis pressed a button and cabinets opened with neatly folded clothing. Louis ignored those and instead reached for a tiny drawer where he hid his “normal” clothes from his mother. 

“Dress like royalty, not a subject,” she always said, but Louis found these clothes to be much more comfortable. He grabbed some jeans, a faded Ed Sheeran tee, and a zip-up that he hoped would fit Harry. 

"Here ya go, mate," he said, handing the stack to Harry. Louis was turning to leave to give Harry some privacy, but he was already out of his spacesuit; his back was to Louis, as he pulled on the jeans. Louis couldn't help but admire his sculpted body. His skin was a pale porcelain, and Louis supposed that made sense, seeing as Harry had lived on a space station in his years before cryo-freeze. 

He was still staring as Harry turned around, pulling on the jacket. 

"Well then, I guess we're good to go" Louis stuttered out nodding his head. Harry gave him a quizzical look, but followed Louis to the garage all the same. It was quite a large garage-- a bit like an airplane hanger-- but seeing as it housed transportation for the entire royal family and all of the employees of the palace, it was understandable. 

"Wow it's big in here," Harry's voice echoed. “Do all these things fly?” 

Louis laughed, looking around at the cars. “Not exactly.”

Harry just looked at him with an inquisitive smile as they reached Zayn and Liam sitting on the hood of Niall’s beat up Camaro. They were blasting “Uptown Funk” with the window rolled down. 

 

“Honestly, Niall! Are you trying to get us caught sneaking out with a mystery spaceman?” Louis whisper-yelled over the music as he and Harry slid into the back seat with Zayn. Niall just laughed as he put up the large garage door and hit the gas. 

Harry let out a little noise of surprise, probably because a car feels a bit different than a spaceship, but maybe just surprised at the speed Niall had taken off. Niall was known to be quite a reckless driver and in that moment Louis wondered why they always put their lives in his hands. 

When they arrived at Waffle House, Louis slipped on a pair of sunglasses and pulled up his hood. No need for the prince to be spotted roaming around downtown London without his parents. They trooped in and settled at their usual table in the back corner. 

Harry looked at the menu in awe. “What is all this?” 

“Young Harold, this is the best food you will ever eat,” Louis joked, as Niall began explaining just about every meal combination he had ever eaten. 

Unfortunately, the waitress came over right as Niall was saying, “And that time, I had to get x-rays because I couldn’t poo for like a week!” He was telling the story of how he'd ordered one of everything on the Waffle House breakfast menu and proceeded to eat it all. The waitress cleared her throat. 

“Are y’all ready to order?” She asked. They all looked to Harry, who nodded nervously. 

Louis was last to order and added, “Could we get some Waffle House hats? We’ve got a first timer here” He gestured at Harry. The waitress gave him an unamused look, but assured him that she would be back soon with the food and the hats. 

About five minutes later each boy had a hat upon their head and forks at the ready. Harry’s eyes were wide as he ate a piece of waffle, then tried it with syrup. Next he tried eggs, scrambled and over easy on toast. After that he sampled the hash browns, and finished them off with ketchup. But when Louis pushed a plate of bacon and sausage over to him, he looked at it strangely. 

“What's this? It looks different from everything else." 

“Oh, it’s just meat. It comes from animals, you know? Like bacon and sausage here-" Louis gestured, "both come from pigs."

Harry glanced around, and-- seeing that there was no one-- rolled up his sleeve and typed “earth pig” into his wrist-top. Pictures, gifs and videos of all kinds of pigs appeared floating in front of him and he smiled. 

“I don’t think I could possibly eat such a cute little thing,” Harry cooed. Louis just shrugged with a smile and slid the plate down the table to Niall, but inside he thought that Harry was possibly the loveliest boy he had ever met.

“Did you like everything else?” he inquired. 

“Yes, everything was delicious-- much better than space food,” Harry replied. “And I really like hanging out with other humans. Especially you, Louis.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Major character death in this chapter! We wrote this right after Zayn left the band so... 
> 
> Also introducing two new characters (aliens!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also sorry that we haven't posted in a while, things have been a little hectic! Thanks for sticking with this story!

Four tables away, two Astorians picked at their food contemptuously. 

"What do you think this is?" asked the taller one, wrinkling her nose and holding up a forkful of bacon.

The shorter one tapped her wrist. "According to my wrist-top, it's something called, ‘Earth pig.’"

"’Earth pig?’" asked the first one, gazing incredulously at the pictures and gifs of pigs that had appeared in front her. 

"That's what it says," shot the second. 

"Huh," the other replied, gazing at her forkful of this strange delicacy. "Why are we here again, Ollopalis?"

"I told you, Aelakim," said Ollopalis, a hint of exasperation in her voice."We're here to destroy Harry-- you know, the renegade-- and eliminate his new human friends." 

"Ohhhhh," replied Aelakim slowly.

Ollopalis rolled her large eyes and straightened her mask. It was bad enough that she had to partner up with this half-wit, but now, on top of everything, her human costume was starting to smell. 

Aelakim sniffed at her plate of pancakes before taking a bite. "You know," she began conversationally, "this Earth food isn’t that bad."

"Mannie Jr didn't make us travel six light years away down to this dump just to enjoy the food, Aelakim," Ollopalis retorted through gritted teeth. "Let's just do our job, spy on the kid, and get out."

Aelakim nodded thoughtfully. "You never were the adventurer-sort."

Ollopalis clenched her fist. Trust Aelakim to bring up ancient history in the middle of an Earth Waffle House.

"You always talked about just staying put," continued Aelakim. "Just staying in your home town, finishing academy. Why did Mannie Jr pick you to go to a different planet, again?"

"He picked me because I'm the best person for the job," replied Ollopalis shortly. She crumpled her paper napkin and threw it onto her dirty plate. Risking another quick glance over the booth at Harry (who was grinning bashfully at something the boy across from him had said), she gave her wrist-top another tap. Holding her wrist to her mouth as though she was coughing, she said very quietly, "Send to: Mannie Jr. Message start: We've got eyes on our Subject. He's made friends with a few other Earthians, but we think we could take them without backup. Message end." 

While Ollopalis did this, Aelakim was staring at her with that thoughtful expression. Once upon a time, Ollopalis had found it endearing, but that time was long past. Now she just found it infuriating. "Let's go," she growled, standing up and discreetly adjusting her human mask. Together--but at the same time, apart-- the Astorians left the way they came (quietly, and through the air duct.)

 

/////

"That was amazing, really Louis, thank you," Harry repeated as they made their way from the restaurant.

Louis laughed. “Just wait until you try pizza, I’m sure you’ll love it."

Harry didn’t have any idea what pizza was, but he smiled all the same. 

Just then something zoomed right past Harry, grazing his shoulder. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Everyone turned-- Louis was almost knocked over when Harry thrust his arm out to shield him. A cry rang out-- Zayn was screaming, Zayn was hit! He was on the ground, clutching his chest-- blood gushing from an open wound. Louis couldn't believe his eyes. His ears were ringing, his heart was thumping. His tongue felt like cotton in his mouth. What's happened to Zayn?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Major character death! Aleakim makes a huge mistake, the boys decide what must come next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double posting because the last chapter was so short!

Louis was vaguely aware of falling to his knees beside Zayn, grasping at his flailing arms. 

"ZAYN!” Liam cried. "ZAYN IT'S- YOU'RE GONNA BE ALRIGHT- Zayn, look at me!" 

Zayn was gasping, his breath spent from screaming. Louis looked down and watched his friend’s life ebb away before his disbelieving eyes. 

Louis grabbed him, tears in his eyes, shaking him by the shoulders, but to no avail. "Zayn? I think he's-"

"NO HE'S NOT!" Liam pushed Louis's hands out of the way and grabbed Zayn's now still shoulders. "Zayn! Zayn, can you hear me? Stay with us now-"

Louis's shaking hand rested gently on Liam’ shoulder. "Liams, it's no use. He-"

“Shit, shit, holy Hulin shit on a stick!”

Two women were scrambling toward the scene, the taller one looking sheepish. Suddenly, the shorter one whipped off a mask, revealing her yellow skin and bulging eyes underneath. She elbowed her partner in the ribs and gave her a scathing look, indicating that she, too, should take off her mask.

It was all happening too fast for Louis to comprehend. Beside him Harry gave a startled cry.

"What the h-" began Niall, but he was cut off by the raspy voice issuing from the shorter creature's mouth.

"Aleakim, you dolt, you killed our spy!"

Aleakim (her mask now off, revealing her own bulging eyes) looked down at her weapon, refusing to meet the other's eye. "Oh, that was our spy? Um-"

"Who- what- the hell are you?" interrupted Liam. "And what do you mean, the spy?"

Aleakim glanced sideways at her partner. "Well, uh, what we mean is-"

"What we mean is that that "human"-" (Ollopalis said the word as though it was something disgusting) "isn't really a human at all." She tightened her grip on her gun-like thing and straightened her aim-- which was directly between Harry's eyes. "Aleakim, take off his mask."

Mask? Louis thought, aghast. They don't really mean-

With a flourish, Aleakim tugged off the mask that was Zayn’s face, and out lolled a strange yellow face with especially bulging eyes. 

"Oh my god!" gasped Liam, grasping at Louis’ arm in disbelief. "How- what-"

Niall made a gagging sound as his face turned faintly green and he stared, transfixed, at what used to be Zayn's face. It was hanging, rubbery and distorted, from Aleakim's outstretched fist. 

"You see, humans?" snarled the other alien, looking as though she had nothing but contempt for such a pitiful species. "He was one of Mannie Jr's workers all along."

"That doesn't make any sense!" protested Liam, sounding near hysterics. "I've known Zayn ever since I was a kid! He can't have been a spy the whole time!"

Here the two aliens looked at each other and laughed. "Humans are such idiots, aren't they, Ollopalis?" chuckled Aleakim. 

Abruptly, Ollopalis stopped smiling. "No more idiotic than you," she hissed, and turned back to Liam. "The reason you can remember interacting with Zayn at an early age is because we implanted fake childhood memories of him within all of your brains."

Louis’ mouth dropped open. He could see equally shocked reactions from the boys around him.

"Fake memories?!" Liam shrieked, his fingernails now digging into Louis’ arm. "What the hell do you mean, fake memories?"

"Very simple technology really, all we did was-" 

"Quiet!" hissed Ollopalis, stamping on Aleakim's foot. She turned to Harry. "That's enough talk. We can't arrest you now, but mark my words-" ("my words, too," put in Aleakim, receiving a glare from her partner) "we'll be back for what we came for."

"Never," replied Harry through gritted teeth. 

Louis stood up from beside the fake- Zayn's body. His head was spinning, all those memories of Zayn... were fake? What else was being implanted in his mind? Was it easy? Were people doing it to him every day? 

“Just- Just tell us how you did it, please!” Liam pleaded, tears in his eyes as he avoided looking down at the creature that was Zayn. 

“Oh you stupid earth child,” the one called Ollopalis laughed. “It is a highly complex, advanced type of technological system that-" ("actually very easy to use, almost like Windows 7," interrupted Aleakim quietly) "-only Mannie Jr, the most powerful alien in the universe can do it. We ourselves aren’t even worthy enough to know how he works."

“Even though we’re the most loyal to him,” mumbled Aleakim. Ollopalis whipped around, glaring at her. 

“Are you not grateful? Maybe Mannie Jr would’ve trusted us, but seeing as you just killed the spy..." Ollopalis trailed off angrily. 

Aleakim looked a little embarrassed then, and tapped her wrist-top gently. A beam of light appeared over creature-Zayn and he disappeared, along with the blood stains and human clothes. 

“Goodbye for now, Satan spawns, we’ll be back,” Ollopalis snarled, and beamed into the sky as well. Louis’s mind was still trying to comprehend what had just happened, and he felt like a million questions were crowding together in his brain, each fighting to be answered. 

“Harry, where are they going? I thought your planet took six years to get to?” Louis looked around for Harry, biting his lip. Nothing was making sense, and he needed someone to make things clear. 

It was then he noticed that Harry was no longer at his side. He had backed up towards the restaurant, eyes filled with hurt and tears. 

“They’re just beaming up to their ship, probably a little ways above the clouds,” he choked through his tears. Louis didn’t understand why he was upset; he hadn’t lost anything. Even so, seeing him cry made Louis’ stomach drop; he never wanted to see a boy with such a happy smile shed another tear.

"Harry?" Louis asked tentatively, walking over to him and placing a hand on Harry’s wrist, pulling his hands away from where they hid his teary eyes. "Why are you crying?"

Louis thought that there was certainly no way Harry could’ve become that attached to Zayn in less than 24 hours. Liam and Niall were both sobbing quietly beside Louis, and he could understand that, they had memories, fake or not. What did have Harry to cry over?

“Harry, what’s wrong?” Louis pressed more urgently, now afraid that something was very amiss. Harry looked up at Louis with those scared green eyes. 

“What’s wrong? I’ve hurt you all is what’s wrong. Just by being here, I’ve ruined your lives. I’m never going to belong here and I’m never going to figure out how to save my family and my people. I’m only sixteen, I can’t do this alone-- but now I’ll have to, because I obviously can’t stay hanging around any humans. They would get hurt, like you and Liam and Niall, and it would be my fault." Harry said this as though if he didn't say it now, he never would. He rubbed his arms and glared past his tears at the ground, his emotions deflated. 

It was then that Louis realized how much was really resting on Harry’s shoulders. He was only sixteen after all, what did the freaking aliens expect him to do about an evil dictator? And if anyone could help him, money-wise at least, it was Louis. And really, Louis and the boys had already been hurt. Losing Zayn, and not truly ever having him in the first place, had turned his brain to mush. But realized that Harry would- inevitably of course- hurt anyone he came into contact with, however if he stayed with them, they could help him to fight back. 

"Hey," Louis said softly, aware that Liam and Niall had begun to walk to the car, arms around each other. He reached out and grasped Harry's hand, squeezing it gently. "I know that you're scared and confused-- hell, I'm probably more confused than you are-- but we can do this. You don't have to worry about hurting me-- I promise, I'm going to be there for you for the long haul: killing Mannie Jr, Ollopalis or whatever, saving your race, saving earth, all of that. Whatever we need to do, I'll do it with you."

"Really?" Harry sniffed, looking up at him through watery eyes.

"Of course," Louis replied with a faint smile.

Harry managed a smile back, but it quickly slipped off his face. He pulled his hand away from Louis and turned his back. "I can't ask you to do that Louis," he said, and Louis’ heart froze to hear his voice so brittle. "I can't endanger you anymore. I just-" he broke off, his shoulders slumping. "I just can't live with myself if I know I'm putting you in danger." 

Louis sighed, putting his hands into his pockets. He could see that he wasn't going to change Harry’s mind anytime soon. 

"I'll be right back, Harry," he whispered. "Don't beam off anywhere, or anything."

So Louis left him there, on the wall, and walked slowly to the car. 

“Guys?” he said, gently tapping the window. 

Liam rolled it down and looked out, confused. Louis had to say it. 

“Guys, I know this hurts. A lot. But, hear me out I- I think we should still try and help Harry."

They both looked at Louis like he was mental. 

“Seriously mate? After what just happened? You really want to go through more of that?” Niall sounded extremely pissed off. 

Louis chewed his lip nervously and Liam let out a sympathetic sigh. "Tell us why then, Louis. You've always got your reasons.” 

Louis could see the pain in their eyes, and he choked a little getting the words out. "Anywhere that Harry goes after this, he's going to hurt people, but see, we've already been hurt so we're- possibly- less likely to get hurt again." 

Liam frowned, "Louis, Zayn just got killed, only for it to be revealed that he was a spy for aliens, and then only for it to be revealed that we'd imagined our friend the whole time. I reckon that's a lot of hurt to go through in the same hour, don't you?"

"Yeah," put in Niall angrily. "And you don't even look that sad, Louis. What, you don't care that Zayn's dead?"

Louis sighed. "Of course I care, Niall. It's just that we need to put our hurt behind us and move forward for the time being. Later, after all of this is over, maybe, I'll bawl my eyes out. But now is the time for action, mate. It's do or die."

"You're saying that if we don't help Harry now, we'll die?" asked Liam incredulously.

"Well, not us, but all of the people on Harry's planet," Louis replied in exasperation. "Including Harry!"

Liam nodded slowly, then squeezed Niall's shoulder. "I guess we've got no choice."

Niall shook tears out of his eyes. "If we're any sort of decent, we'd help Harry out with his stupid planet."

"Exactly!" Louis grinned. "So let's not dwell upon our corpse-strewn past, let's celebrate our corpse-strewn future!"

"Shut up, Louis."

And that's all they needed. Operation save the aliens began-- effective immediately.


End file.
